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Year Round Beekeeping & Managing Colonies Presented by Ray Civitts Mountain Sweet Honey Company...
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![Page 1: Year Round Beekeeping & Managing Colonies Presented by Ray Civitts Mountain Sweet Honey Company Toccoa, GA.](https://reader033.fdocuments.in/reader033/viewer/2022051619/56649da25503460f94a8f2b0/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Year Round Beekeeping & Managing Colonies
Presented by
Ray Civitts
Mountain Sweet Honey CompanyToccoa, GA
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South Carolina - Many temperate zones- Up to 5 weeks difference
- Southern most to the Northern most areas
Today we will not discuss particular months- Seasonal look
- Winter- Spring- Summer- Fall
Seasonal Hive Management
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Optimal Placement
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Optimal Placement
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Successful Wintering begins in July?- A good defense is a good offense!- Strong hive population
Get into your hives weekly! (March to early October)- Check brood production of the queen- Queen Cells- Small hive beetles ***- Wax moths- Standing water- Bee population- Hive condition- Water source- Weed control
Summer hive management
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Summer – Action Items
Bees cool the hive by using water - You will hear the bees use their wings to cool the hive- Congregating on the outside of the hive – check bee-space- Bees will go back into the hive an hour after sunset
Nectar flow decreases Check for mites (mite treatment plan after nectar flow)Screen bottom boards (Clean)
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Fall season in your hive
Hive begins to transition over to winter bees.
Summer Bees will begin to be replaced- Winter Bees begin to emerge- Winter Bees are slightly bigger
Sugar water feeding
Repair hives
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Late Fall Season – Action ItemsHives are now slowing down (Population, low exterior activity)
Smaller bee population (may have to take off a super)
Winter bees are now more common
Brood production is decreasing
Hive beetles are on the offensive
Golden Rod is the last pollen source
Order your bees for best pick-up dates
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Late Fall into Winter – Action Items
Reduce hive opening down to 1 inch opening• Allows the hive to keep more heat
Begin monthly inspections on days above 55 degrees• Hive population• Hive condition• Brood condition
Softball size brood pattern
Weekly – Walk your bee yard• Hive activity• Sugar water usage
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Winter season in your hive
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Late Winter – Starvation
Large winter colony- Large colonies eat through their winter honey stores - Must monitor honey stores of the hive.- Pickup the rear of the hive to feel the weight- #1 reason for bee loss during the winter.
Late Winter Starvation- Feed sugar water- Pollen patties- Take honey frames from other hives.
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Winter – Action Items
Determine a game plan for your hobby for the spring- Cut comb honey
New bee yard for better honey production- Sourwood, Tupelo, etc..
What will you offer this year (Wax candles, honey jar sizes, etc)
Hive feed stores
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Winter – Action Items
Purchased semi truck of lumber in 2013- Manufactured hive body’s
- Screen bottom boards- Brood boxes- 105 medium supers- 250 Nuc boxes
Determine items you will need (wait and it may be too late).- 5,000 deep frames and foundation- 10,000 lbs of sugar
Determine how you are going to market your honey.
How much time is it going to take?
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Winter – Action Items
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Winter – Action Items
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Winter season in your hive
Make sure your bees have honey stores during the winter!
- Leaving a medium super for your bees to consume- Pull empty super- Heat efficiency of the hive
- First year hives?- Option is to feed sugar water for the winter at a 2 to 1 ratio
- Limited honey for your first year to store up.- If you take all the honey
- Be prepared to feed sugar water for the next 8 months.
** Quick calculation is approx. 37 lbs. per hive for a first year hive.
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Early Spring – Action Items
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Early Spring – Action ItemsFlora begin to bloom
More bees flying in and out of the hive!
Warm days of 55 degrees or higher - Quick hive inspection- Don’t want to chill the hive on cold days
Keep feeding sugar water and water- When do you stop feeding?
- Nectar flow- Slow usage- Winter super is full
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Early Spring – Action Items
Hive management is very important- Identify weak hives for re-queening
- Why is this so hard to do?- Pollen is coming in the hive- May have to add a super due to bee space
- Helps reduce swarming- Start building frames for supers- Identify which hives do not need sugar water
- Winter honey super
Small hive beetles should be very minimal- Keep on top of it!
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Spring season in your hive
Brood production should be going strong!- Pollen is what keeps the queen laying.- Queen is well mated
- Eggs- Larva- Capped brood
- Low brood production could mean your queen is failing you must consider re-queening
- Possibly not properly mated
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Spring season management of your hiveBrood production
Bee space – Keep your bee space adequate- Too tight and you will promote swarming
- Too much space will allow competing insects into the hive.
Rule of thumb- 80% of frames are utilized (brood or honey)- Full super of bees- Signs - Inner cover has many bees between inner cover and top cover.
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30% bee space in the hive
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Late Spring – Action Items
Continue weekly hive inspections
Most important - watch “bee space” in hive - Add supers as needed.
- Look for queen cells to eliminate swarming- Swarming will cost you in the following ways:
I. Loss of honey productionII. Loss of bee population
- Watch for failing queens
- Last chance to add hives
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Question & Answer Session
Visit our website at:
MountainSweetHoney.com
Beekeeper News: Weekly Blog – Beginning Beekeeper toSideliners - Slides will be posted under this page.
“Like” us on Facebook: Mountain Sweet Honey Co.